Solar greenhouses may be elegantly designed and proportioned to complement the beauty of a dwelling. They provide a versatile form of additional living space that can capture and store solar energy. Provision is thus made for a practical addition which confines a place in the sun for gardening, dining, lounging and so forth. In fact, such additional spaces have been used for accommodating hot tubs and spa accoutrements and the like.
Commercial systems are available for providing selective shading for solar greenhouses and the like. In one known arrangement, a shade is transferred from one motor driven towards a second motor driven roller by straps which are fastened to the leading edge of a shade, these straps being attached to one of the rollers and being wound upon the same to draw the shade from the other roller upon which the shade is coiled and normally stored. In addition, the leading edge of the shade is provided in the form of a rigid member, the edges of which are guided in a channel provided in a guiding member which has no structural function and is intended solely for the purpose of being a shade guide.
An inspection of the available system reveals that the leading rigid element of the aforegoing system extends laterally beyond the lateral edges of the shade so that the lateral edges of the shade are spaced from the guide and thus provide means for an inadvertent passage of solar radiation or the like between the guides and the shade edges. It is also to be noted that the guides have no structural function to be performed as has been noted hereinabove, and that the guides are generally mounted inwardly of the solar greenhouse structure in such a manner as to be readily receptive of inadvertent damaging forces or the like. Moreover, it will be noted that the shade is inconveniently positioned with its lateral edges subject to damage and deterioration.
Also commercially available are shades having lateral edges into which are incorporated wires or cables or the like which give to these lateral edges a conformation which is bulbous in nature. These bulbous lateral edges are accommodated in guiding tracks which heretofore have been exclusively rectilinear and solely vertically disposed. These shades have not been incorporated into solar greenhouses or other such complex structures for purposes of providing selective shielding or shading.
Also commerically available are rollers within which are provided internal motors of generally cylindrical conformation. These motors are utilized for selectively driving the rollers for taking up straps attached to shades or for rewinding shades and the like. Insofar as I am aware, these motor driven rollers have not been utilized in conjunction with the structural members of solar greenhouses or the like in the manner which will be described in greater detail hereinbelow.